the young novices on up to Ãcariya Mun, resembling the night
sky’s array of stars and planets: some were bright, some less so. It
was a majestic sight, for not even the junior monks or young nov-
ices had somber, gloomy states of mind. Each being admirable,
every monk was worthy of respect in his own way as he strove to
improve and refine himself spiritually. Sometimes she recounted
her visits to the brahmaloka, describing how she saw large num-
bers of monks, but no lay people. This puzzled her, so she asked
Ãcariya Mun to explain – which he did.
“The brahmaloka is mostly inhabited by monks who have
already attained the level of Anãgãmï, that’s why. When a monk
who has attained Anãgãmï dies, he is reborn in the brahmaloka.
Very few lay people develop themselves to that level, so they rarely
gain access to the brahma realms. Thus you saw only monks there,
but no lay people. Another thing: if you’re so curious, why didn’t
you ask one of the monks you saw? Neglecting to ask them while
you were there, you now want to come and ask me.”
She laughed. “I forgot to ask them. I didn’t think about it
until I’d come back down, so I decided to ask you. If I remember,
next time I go up I’ll ask those monks.”
Ãcariya Mun’s explanations usually had a dual purpose:
to expound the truth of the matter, and then to clear up her
doubts. Later he discouraged her from sending out her awareness
to perceive external phenomena, for it used up the valuable time
she needed to spend investigating internal phenomena and the
basic principles underlying them – investigations leading directly
to the realization of magga and phala. Obediently, she practiced
as he advised. He often praised this woman’s meditation practice,
telling his monks of her high achievements in Dhamma – a level
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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